The “Father of Country Music” Jimmie Rodgers
September 12, Nashville TN: The Americana Music Festival & Conference, presented by Nissan, September 17-21, is spotlighting “The Music of Mississippi” this year with multiple programming events exploring the history and traditions of American Roots Music in Mississippi.
Among the anticipated highlights that will take place includes the Americana Honors & Awards show, where Cassandra Wilson will pay homage to the blues and Marty Stuart, with the Fabulous Superlatives will remember the Father of Country Music, Jimmie Rodgers, whom the Americana Music Association will honor with its Presidents Award, the organizations only posthumous accolade. Paul Thorn will also appear on the Ryman stage to contextualize the importance of the Mississippi’s impact on the musical landscape. The Americana Honors & Awards takes place on Wednesday, September 17 and will broadcast live on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country and filmed for a PBS special titled ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2014 to be broadcast November 22.
Earlier in the day, Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli will moderate a panel featuring Ms. Wilson, author Holly George Warren, Mississippi Tourism’s Malcolm White and Blues Trail researcher Scott Barretta titledMississippi Rising: The Melting Pot of American Music. On Thursday, September 18, Marty Stuart will be apart of a veritable keynote about Mississippi, interviewed by Scott Goldman of the Grammy Foundation and MusiCares at the Ford Theatre in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Later, that night, Stuart will headline a Made in Mississippi showcase featuring Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife & Drum Band, Luther Dickinson, Leo “Bud” Welch, Webb Wilder and The Paul Thorn Band.
A very special edition of Thacker Mountain Radio, the first ever out-of-state broadcast of the show, will be free and open to the General Public and Convention goers on Friday September 19 at 5pm the Hutton Hotel in Nashville.
Many of Visit Mississippi’s partner Convention and Visitors Bureaus will participate in the conference expo, sharing travel and tourism information with conference attendees. Connecting the musical lineage of Mississippi and Nashville is the root of the Visit Mississippi and Americana Music Association partnership.
The Americana Music Association is a professional non-profit trade organization whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American Roots Music around the world. The Association curates events throughout the year including the annual Americana Music Festival and Conference, presented by Nissan, the acclaimed Americana Honors & Awards program and most recently “Americana NYC” August 4–11 — a partnership with Lincoln Center. For more information, please visit www.americanamusic.org.